Thursday, December 31, 2009

If you don't have The One Year Bible and still want to read using the plan, never fear: there is an online reading plan. You can refer to the Scripture references each day online, or you can just print off the three-page spread, which tells you what to read each day.

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Whether you are one of my three friends who have indicated that they will read this blog, a person I know who has jumped over from my family's blog, or a stranger who has inadvertently stumbled upon this blog, it may be helpful for me to list a few caveats and explanations to keep in mind as you are reading:

1. I have been a Christian for 19 years now, and I strive everyday to love God with all my heart, my soul, my strength, and my mind. I believe that the Bible is the inspired, infallible word of God, and on its words, I base my life.

2. This blog does not seek to be authoritative in any way. I am literally treating it as a journal of my thoughts and reactions, mostly in hope of feedback from others who are also searching for God's truth in Scripture.

3. I never for a moment doubt God's power, presence, or perfection. As a fallible human, however, I often get confused when seeking to understand Him. That should go without saying. As such, I may ask questions when thinking about Scripture. To me, asking questions is not a form of doubt; nor is it dangerous. As any teacher can tell you, asking questions is how we learn. And as any psalmist could tell you, asking questions is often an indicator of a relationship. Right now, my relationship with God is passionate. I desire to go deeper. That will inevitably mean asking questions. I say all that because sometimes asking questions is misinterpreted. I sincerely hope that that will not be the case with this blog.

4. That said, I know that I will not find the answer to all my questions. I won't try to make them up if I don't have them. One thing the Bible has taught me is humility. I want all the answers to all my questions, but God wants me to have faith. And He often builds it in me through the reading of Scriptures I don't understand.

Okay, those are all the caveats I can think of. Maybe it is going overboard to list them, but I very much want this blog to be a positive experience for all those who read it. I would hate to think that something I write would give the wrong impression of Scripture, or of me. I might even add this as a link to the bottom of each blog as a reminder of my intentions. We'll see:).

I am so excited to get started on this. If you are reading this, perhaps you will say a prayer for me as I undertake this process of getting to know God better!

This year, 2010, I have decided to try and "blog the Bible." First, I plan to read each day from The One Year Bible, thus reading through the entire Bible in a year. Then, I hope to blog my thoughts, reactions, and questions about each reading. There are several reasons I want to do this:

First of all, I personally love journaling. For me, writing is a wonderful way to process my thoughts and reactions. Often, the very act of writing shapes my thinking as I write. It helps focus my thoughts, and it aids me in more fully comprehending what I just read.

Nowadays, I type much faster than I write. So typing my "journal" would help ensure that it actually gets done.

Furthermore, the last time I read through the Bible, I had many questions and ideas rattling through my brain that I would have loved to bounce off of people. My wonderful husband provided me with a lot of insight and clarity, but there were several times that we both wished we had further insight. He is fully supportive of my desire to blog my thoughts. Our hope is that other people, perhaps even people who are also reading through The One Year Bible, could share their own thoughts and feedback, as well.

Lastly, I am hoping that just the possibility of someone else reading this blog will provide me some accountability in following through on my reading and journaling. I have no doubt that I will grow weary in faithfully journaling through my thoughts or even in reading through the Bible. Hopefully, this built-in accountability from brothers and sisters (including my husband and my mom!) will keep me faithful.

Those are all my reasons for blogging the Bible. In my next post, I will give some further clarification of my position on Scripture and my thoughts about our reactions to it.